Minnesota
Atheists has joined as a plaintiff to a lawsuit by Michael Newdow to
halt the prayers and religious invocations scheduled for Barack Obama’s
presidential inauguration on January 20, 2009, as a violation of
separation of state and church . PDF versions of the lawsuit and its four appendices are linked below.

The lawsuit contains names of both groups and individuals as plaintiffs. In
addition to the group Minnesota Atheists, August Berkshire, president
of Minnesota Atheists and vice president of Atheist Alliance
International, is listed as an individual plaintiff. Berkshire is the owner of the ATHEIST car license plate for Minnesota.

Michael
Newdow achieved prominence in 2004 when he argued before the U.S.
Supreme Court that public schools should not lead children in the
“Pledge of Allegiance” because it contains the words “under God.”
Minnesota Atheists signed on to a friend of the court brief in that
case. (The
U.S. Supreme Court threw the case out, declaring that Newdow lacked
standing because he was not the primary caregiver for his daughter.)
Newdow had previously prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
in 2002. See case details here .

Minnesota
Atheists was the only group to testify at the Minnesota State Capitol
against legislation mandating the recitation of the “Pledge of
Allegiance” in Minnesota public schools. (Feb. 13, 2003.) Minnesota Atheists did this
because the Pledge contains the phrase “under God.” While the
legislation ended up passing, the final bill contained greater
protections for the rights of dissenters than the original bill,
probably due to Minnesota Atheists’ testimony. Read more here.

“Minnesota
Atheists was pleased to accept a personal invitation from Michael
Newdow to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit,” stated August Berkshire,
president of Minnesota Atheists. “The swearing in of a president is a
secular event. The oath of office is in the U.S. Constitution and it
contains no religious references. It
is unfortunate that while Barack Obama campaigned on a theme of unity,
the very act of becoming president will serve to divide Americans along
religious lines.”

Founded
in 1991 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization, Minnesota
Atheists is the state’s oldest, largest, and most active atheist
organization. Our motto is “Positive Atheism in Action.” We
are organized for three purposes: to provide a community for atheists;
to educate the public about atheism; and to promote separation of state
and church. We may be contacted at (612) 588-7031, info@mnatheists.org, and http://mnatheists.org.